Telefonica to launch NFC in Europe in ‘the next few months’

The telecoms giant, which runs the Movistar network in Spain and Latin America as well as O2 in Europe and Vivo in Brazil, has announced it will use a central trusted service management solution provided by Giesecke & Devrient to roll out NFC services in Europe next year.

TELEFONICA: A single TSM for Europe

Telefónica has announced that its new Digital division has chosen Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) to provide it with a single Europe-wide trusted service management (TSM) platform that it will use to roll out commerical NFC services from 2012.

The agreement calls for Giesecke & Devrient to provide a range of TSM services including over-the-air (OTA) transfer and personalisation of NFC applications as well as lifecycle management of Telefónica’s NFC application platform. G&D will also be one of Telefónica’s NFC SIM suppliers.

“Telefónica will introduce new NFC-based services, made available to end users through a wallet application, starting with deployment in Europe over the next few months,” says the carrier. “This new NFC management platform on Telefónica’s network will also be made available to third-party service providers, including financial institutions, transit operators, and loyalty partners.”

“The final goal for Telefónica is to build an open NFC ecosystem ensuring interoperability and offering service providers a friendly environment to deliver NFC services reaching a large number of mobile subscribers,” explains Joaquín Mata, global head of financial services at Telefónica Digital. “Giesecke & Devrient is one of Telefónica’s strategic partners in building this new ecosystem and has the required technological know-how to turn NFC services in a commercial reality.”

“Financial services is a key focus area for Telefónica’s new Digital division, which has been formed to lead its growth in the new digital world,” the carrier adds. “Through a combination of research and development, partnership, investment and acquisition, Telefónica Digital will bring innovative products and services to market that allow it to drive continued growth in the core telecommunications market, as well as in new digital service areas.”

Get The NFCW Email Newsletter

Related news

Post navigation

About us

NFCW provides banks, card issuers, merchants, brands, carriers and technology suppliers with the knowledge needed to successfully navigate the next phase of the connected customer revolution. Find out more